Demarie women hardy, talented, helpful

     There were few women in this region when the first men arrived to start building mills on the rivers.
     When one young man, Tom Sheridan, was asked by his father to take a wife, he replied, "that he had no objection if he only knew whose wife to take."
     There were no young, single women available.
     However, the first women who arrived in the area made their presence felt in lending a helping hand to those in need.
     The wife of Louis Demarie, Angeline Demarie, a Huron Indian by some sources and a Chippewa by others, became well known for her uncommon natural abilities

Was born physician

     Thomas Randall wrote, "...and with education and culture she would have graced a high social position in any community. She was born a physician and for many years the only one in the valley; and of making a diagnosis of disease, and her knowledge of the haling properties and proper application of many of the remedies used in the Materia Medica, exhibited extraordinary insight and skill in her practice.
     "She was frequently called to attend upon many families and her prescriptions were simple, natural and always efficacious."
      Another account noted, "Angeline was a very capable woman and seemed to be an almost intuitive doctor and her skill was often called into requisition in those rude times.
      "Her work in this direction was always gratuitous and she is entitled to great credit for bringing her family in habits of industry."

Lived well bast 100

     Angeline Demarie died Feb. 2, 1893 at the advanced age of 121 years by some reports.
     Mrs. Demarie had five daughters and nearly all of them figured in the early life of the valley.
     Mary married H.S. Allen in 1836. He became one of the famous names in the early history of logging at Chippewa Falls. They met in Menomonie when Marie and her sister Rosalie walked from Chippewa to Menomonie to procure supplies.
     Mrs. Allen was a devout Catholic and although there was no priest in these parts when she was married to Allen by Esq. Warren, the marriage was later solemnized at Prairie du Chien according to the rites of her church.
     She came with Allen to Chippewa Falls where he purchased the mill site and platted the city. Her father, Louis Demarie, was the first white to bring a family into the Chippewa Valley.
     "To all those called to Chippewa by business during the days when there were no hotels, she practiced unvaried hospitality and impartial kindness. Her treatment of everybody was the same when Allen was in the full tide of prosperity or when his fortunes were at low ebb," one historian wrote.

Assisted in maintaining peace

     Mrs. Allen, the mother of 11 children, still found time, like her mother, to attend to the many needs of those early Chippewa settlers. She often assisted her husband in preventing problems between the whites and Chippewa Indians. Mrs. Allen died at the age of 76, May 6, 1894.
     Rosalie Demarie was married to Arthur McCann, one of the first men to build a sawmill in Eau Claire. McCann was murdered in 1843 after a card game near Dunnville. Rosalie returned to live with her parents before marrying again.
     There were scores of other women who moved into the area as more and more pioneers came in the late 1840s and early 1850s, but the Demarie women were among the very first.

Extracted from the Eau Claire Leader Telegram
Special Publication, Our Story 'The Chippewa Valley and Beyond', published 1976
Used with permission.